A BMW X5 SUV, seen in January 2012 in the Sanlitun embassy area in Beijing. It was a cold day, you can still see some recent snow on the road. The good Bimmer was wrapped in a stealthy matte black wrap, and further sexed up with a black grille, black alloy wheels, and darkened windows.
Author: Tycho de Feijter
Get Your Beetle A6 Coupé Car Model In Pink Or Red In China
A ‘Beetle A6 Coupé’, seen in a toy store in China in 2015. The toy car depicts the A5 Volkswagen Beetle, made from 2011 until 2019. This kind of die cast models are totally unlicensed and very common in China. To et around probable copyright issues, toy makers often invent new names that are close to the original but not close enough to cause trouble.
The Chinese text says ‘德国大众汽车’, or ‘German Volkswagen Car’. The model was made by toy maker MZ Model (美致模型), based in Shantou, Guangdong province. The shop had two Beetle A6 Coupé models on offer, one in shiny pink and one in dark red. Scale was about 1:32 and it sold for 88 yuan, which was a little steep for this kind of model. But I guess the pink one was worth it.
Beijing BJ130 Is An Old And Pretty Factory Fire Truck In Beijing
Here we have a very special vehicle. This pretty truck is a Beijing BJ130 fire truck, seen in the Sanlitun embassy area in Beijing in 2011. The truck is painted in fire-red with white-wall tires. To kill flames, it is fitted with a spray mechanism at the front, a water canon behind the cabin, and a large water tank.
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Subaru BRZ Is A Cool Japanese Sports Car In China
A speedy Subaru BRZ sports car, seen on a second-hand car market in Beijing in 2018. The BRZ was in a perfect shape, and the Subaru blue color almost matched with the color of the Beijing license plate.
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Bentley Arnage Is A Big British Luxury Sedan In China
A stately Bentley Arnage sedan, seen at a restaurant in the mountains to the north of the Chinese capital Beijing in 2011. The Arnage was painted in a pretty shade of dark green and loaded with chrome. The license plates, with a rare triple 3 sequence, are of Jiangsu province. That’s a driving distance of at least 1000 kilometers. Must have been quite a ride in that big Bentley.
The Bentley Arnage was officially sold in China from 2004 until 2009. The car on the photo is a 2005 Arnage R, powered by the massive 6.75 liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine, good for 450 hp and 875 Nm. Power went to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. Price in China was a sweet 4.98 million yuan. The Arnage never sold very well on the Chinese market and these early examples are particularly rare.
Yunbao YB2030 Nissan Patrol Y60 Is A Chinese-Japanese Mash-up
This is a super rare Yunbao YB2030 Nissan Patrol, seen on a car market in Beijing in 2016. The Yunbao YB2030 is basically a locally end-assembled fourth-generation Nissan Patrol Y60.
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Tricycle Is Slightly Overloaded At Night In China
A slightly overloaded tricycle, seen at night in central Beijing by our good friend Lao Wei, thank you for the pictures! The dapper tricycle is loaded to the absolute max, about 4 meters up and 3 wide. Hope it doesn’t need to pass too many tunnels. Note the Beijing-Hyundai Elantra taxi in the background on the left.
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Black License Plate Mania In Beijing Part 8
Welcome to Black License Plate Mania In Beijing Part 8 (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7), where we look at cars with black license plates in the Chinese capital. On the first picture a BMW 3-Series sedan with some M-bits with 京A·02230.
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Zotye E200 Is A Cool Electric Mini Car In China
A Zotye E200, seen at a Zotye dealer in Beijing in 2018. The Zotye E200 is a cool electric mini car with a hip design. It was launched on the Chinese car market in 2016 and sold very well. Sadly, Zotye’s 2021 bankruptcy also meant the end for the E200.
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Guangzhou-Honda Odyssey MPV Makes For A Nice Police Car In China
A Honda Odyssey police car, seen in Beijing in 2010. However, it doesn’t belong to the local police force. According to the first character of the license plate, this police vehicle hailed from Hubei Province.
The character is 鄂, or ‘È’, is an ancient alternative name for Hubei. Now that we are into characters anyway, let’s do the rest as well: the red character on the right side of the plate is 警 (jing), short for 警察 (jingcha), which means police, and that’s on the bonnet as well. On the side is 公安 (gong’an), and that means public security. This is a general term used by various police forces.
The Honda Odyssey MPV is somewhat of an odd choice for a police car. The third-generation Odyssey was made in China from 2005 until 2009 by the Guangzhou-Honda joint venture, the successor of the second generation Odyssey. The China-spec Odyssey was powered by a 2.4 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 160 hp and 218 Nm, good for a 190 hp top speed. Just enough to catch some bad guys in, for example, an old Civic.